


a wake-up call

by sugarcoats



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Wakey-Wakey Music Video, ish, johnny's long hair, makes doyoung realize feelings™
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 11:31:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18991789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarcoats/pseuds/sugarcoats
Summary: Johnny gets hair extensions for their new music video and Doyoung should hate it—hedoeshate it—until he doesn't.translated intoVietnameseby the lovely Trịnh Ánh





	a wake-up call

Doyoung sighed as Johnny gently shook him awake in the earliest hours of dawn, rousing him from deep sleep. “Wakey, wakey, Doie,” he softly said, his voiced accompanied by a warm chuckle.

Doyoung groaned. “I hate you so much,” he told him as he buried his face into his pillow, but they both knew he didn’t mean it. He wondered how long it’d take everyone to grow tired of that catchphrase.

They were staying in a hotel close to the set for the music video, and he was rooming with Johnny for the first time in ages. The tall guy was great to live with, funny, caring, and they played well off of each other, even if he liked to act annoyed. Especially whenever Johnny was acting more American than usual, Doyoung would tease him for whatever foreign habit he’d picked up. All in good fun though, after all, Johnny had helped him with English and vice versa with Korean.

After a quick shower and a rushed breakfast with the rest of the members, they split up into two cars to get to the set. He was joined by Jungwoo, Yuta and Taeil. The other members were in the second car, with exception of Winwin, who was doing WayV promotions, and Donghyuck, who’d join them later. They had a long day ahead of them—Doyoung rubbed the sleep out of his eyes—as it was the first day of their music video shoot for their new Japanese title-track.

Doyoung lingered in his window seat with his eyes closed, conserving as much energy as he possibly could. His thoughts wandered off to the choreography they’d be shooting today. They had practised enough, but he knew his endurance was a bit lower than the other members. Not like Taeyong, who could dance all day, spending most of his free time in the dance studio, or Taeil, who had mastered the art of managing his energy levels. Doyoung had other strengths, he liked to think.

This choreography in particular was challenging; it had more difficult moves and complex formations, but it paid off. It had taken them a while to learn, especially while rehearsing an alternate tour performance version which left a space for Donghyuck. He wasn’t dancing yet, not for the music video anyway.

When they’d gotten the briefing for the music video a week ago, their exact looks hadn’t been decided yet. So when they arrived, everyone was eager to get to the dressing rooms, curious to see what surprises awaited them.

First though, coffee was waiting for them in the next room, next to the snack bar. Johnny handed him a cappuccino, giving him a sympathizing smile. His eyes caught his for a moment and suddenly Doyoung panicked, unable to recall what a normal length of eye contact was supposed to be.

He was saved by their manager, calling them to gather in the meeting room to go over the day’s schedule again. They’d be starting by filming the choreography group shots, so Donghyuck wasn’t on duty before noon; since it was his first project back he had to take it slow.

After they finished, a loud, high-pitched voice yelled ‘hello’ at them. A chorus of “Hyuck!” and “Haechan!” welcomed him back. It was far from noon, but everyone was too excited to have him back, to scold him for not resting.

While the others were fussing over Donghyuck, Doyoung went ahead to the makeup room. He didn’t want Hyuck to get overwhelmed, knowing he’d be able to handle himself and having other members doting over him anyway.

In the hallway leading to the makeup room, walls full of inspiration dominated the room. Pictures of different hair styles, dark makeup looks and bubblegum aesthetics. Apparently, they were combining a goth-like look with playful outfits. He had caught a glimpse of the set when he came in, which looked a lot like a room of dark, metal, stained glass, with an equally fitting ceiling mural. Interesting combination, but then again, he wasn’t an art director.

 

When Doyoung walked into the makeup room, a familiar air of makeup and hair spray welcomed him. The second thing he noticed was a mannequin head standing in front of the lighted mirrors, sporting a wig with long, dark hair. One of the stylists caught his eye and gave him a knowing look. She’d worked with them before; her name was Choi Youngmi.

Doyoung laughed nervously. “Whose are those?” he asked, pointing to the pile of hair extensions.

“Hmm?” He took note of the feigned nonchalance on her face. “Oh, these? They’re yours!”

“Mine?” He wasn’t sure what to do with his eyes, voice, limbs; currently stuck in disbelief. They had tried multiple different looks, but this was more than that.

“Don’t be surprised; they’ll look good on you.” She gauged his expressions, not taking her eyes off of him. She must be kidding. Right?

“They can’t be mine, sorry.” He was laughing, only because he didn’t know what else to do. There was no way he saw himself with long, straight hair, performing Wakey-Wakey.

“I’m sorry, but that’s what the art director decided for you. Just try, I promise it will look better than you think.”

There was no use arguing. He accepted defeat, but his face must have spoken volumes, because finally, she burst out laughing. “You’re right. No worries, you’re safe.”

He let out a shaky laugh. “Good, ‘cause I hate them.” He exhaled. “At least, on myself.”

“They’re not everyone’s taste,” Youngmi commented diplomatically, as she went through with the hair.

Relief made way for curiosity; he’d certainly call that an understatement. “Whose are they then?”

“Oh, I guess you’ll find out soon enough.” She gave him a mysterious smile. Jungwoo, who’d been observing the exchange with amusement, nodded. “Not mine,” the blonde said, and laughed, in response to the look Doyoung had given him.

Doyoung briefly tried his puppy eyes on the other stylist around, but he was ushered into a chair in front of the mirror in order to do his makeup. When Youngmi started on his hair, she only put some product in it thankfully.

 

In the dressing room several racks of clothing were set to the side, sorted by color schemes. He swerved towards the black outfits, that they were using for the choreography today. Doyoung was excited about the chains, which were always fun to play with.

With nine members, crew and staff all on the same set, things got crowded and while there was an organisation system in place, that also meant stuff got messy soon. He changed into his outfit in the limited space he had between clothing racks and mirrors. He couldn’t find his shoes that weren’t in the box helpfully labeled ‘Kim Doyoung’, but he eventually found them in a chaotic corner next to an assortment of hats.

 

When he came back into the make-up room, he noticed Johnny sitting next to the hair extensions. He already had his makeup done, matching his dark outfit. Black liner and eyeshadow adorned his eyes, complimenting them to look even warmer.

“So they’re yours?” Doyoung asked, a teasing undertone to his question as he pointed to the extensions.

Johnny looked at him with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. “Jealous?”

He suspiciously eyed the long brown strands of hair that had threatened him less than an hour ago. “No, I’m good.”

“C’mon Doie, life’s too short for boring hair styles.”

“I’d rather be boring than look like that.” Doyoung wasn’t one to dismiss people based on their looks, but something about those extensions brought out the worst in him.

Johnny shrugged, as if to say _your loss._ “You know I never turn down a challenge.”

 _True._ One of the many things he admired about him.

As Johnny’s hair progressively got longer, Doyoung tried to steal glances through the mirror to his right, but he kept being blocked by his own makeup artist, who was giving him a dark eye look. That was how he ended up not seeing the end result until the stylist loudly declared, “done!”

Doyoung stood up and walked to him to get a better view. Johnny was being turned around, seeing himself in the mirror for the first time.

Johnny had transformed from a goth into a hippie with that hair. It was so _different_ , and not in a good way. His expression didn’t betray any judgement; he turned his head lightly, trying to see all angles. He hadn’t said anything about liking it yet, but he wouldn’t stop looking at himself in the mirror.

The tension grew as everyone stayed silence, and just before the stylist made a move to say something, Johnny opened his mouth. “Thanks!” He smiled brightly at the stylist. “It’s perfect!”

Doyoung couldn’t say the same. It seemed a little better than if _he_ was the one rocking the hair, but even on Johnny, he wasn’t a fan. He tried not to let his judgment show on his face.

The other, however, wasn’t satisfied. “Do you hate it?”

Doyoung couldn’t bear to shatter Johnny’s joyful expressions seconds after it had appeared on his face, so he put on a smile. “It’s…interesting.”

Johnny gave him a pointed look. “Honesty, Doie.”

He exhaled. “Yeah, I hate it.”

“A shame,” Johnny sighed dramatically, “what will I do without the great Doyoung’s approval?” He stuck out his tongue.

Doyoung gave him a playful shove back, and once their stylists gave them the go-ahead, they moved to the actual set.

 

Soon they were in formation and dancing. It was nothing out of the ordinary for them to take a while to settle into a new choreography, but Doyoung had to concentrate even harder today. He stood behind Johnny for major parts of the choreo, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off of his swirling hair. It took him several run-throughs before he regained his professionality. He wouldn’t let a silly haircut distract him, especially if it didn’t seem to impact Johnny in the slightest.

The shooting itself went well enough. They had the choreography down, they just needed a lot of different angles. That meant dancing again, and again, and again.

When it was time for a break, Johnny followed Doyoung as they walked to get something to drink. As soon as they had wrapped for the morning, Johnny had opened his mouth. “It feels so amazing, I can’t stop,” he said as he did another twirl, “making my hair move.”

From his comfortable position on the couch, Doyoung observed Johnny’s antics with a straight face as he suggested, “you know, this would be excellent for headbanging.”

Johnny seemed to seriously consider that for a moment, but eventually discarded the idea. “That’s gonna mess up my hair too bad,” he smirked, “for now, anyways.” He crashed down next to him, bumping their knees against each other.

Doyoung rolled his eyes; _why was he encouraging him anyway?_

Johnny eyed his own hairdo. “See, it’s already messed up again.” Johnny grabbed a brush from a table nearby, reaching over Doyoung’s shoulder with his long arms. “Wanna help out?” he asked, pulling a pout. He told him he wanted to take selfies together, so he needed to fix most of it. The stylists’ jobs were hard enough as it was, and Johnny didn’t trust himself not to pull out some of the extensions somehow.

A strange emotion had settled in Doyoung’s stomach in the past hours. He couldn’t really place it, all he had figured out so far was that it was connected to Johnny. He’d recognise jealousy, so that couldn’t be it. There was just something ever so slightly off. The obvious change was Johnny’s hair, but that made no sense. They all had their fair share of questionable—at best—hairstyles in the past, and he had never reacted like this.

With no excuse to reject him, Doyoung took the brush from him. He started from the ends, not wanting to accidentally create more knots. To stabilize Johnny’s head, he placed his left hand against the back of it, gently holding him in place.

“Isn’t weird how I’ve already gotten used to the length? It’s only been hours but running my hands through my hair feels like the most natural thing in the world,” Johnny pondered. “Now I understand why some people never stop playing with their hair.”

Doyoung acknowledged Johnny’s musings but didn’t reply. He put down the brush and used his fingers to separate some bigger strands. It felt intimate in a way that wasn’t there before and he tried to limit the amount they touched. Something about the hair had put him off balance; their relationship felt all weird, though Doyoung wasn’t sure whether Johnny felt it as well.

Doyoung was back to brushing now, making sure every hair was in its place with long strokes. “Done,” he announced.

“Thanks Bunny,” Johnny said as he turned around. Doyoung was ready to object, rejecting the pet name, but Johnny’s closeness caught him off guard. He was too close, and Doyoung scrambled to break their eye contact, trying to seem as if he wasn’t panicking. He pulled out his phone instead, raising his arm as he was ready to take a picture. Doyoung threw up a peace sign and moments later Johnny mirrored him. They took a few more before Doyoung lowered the phone and they quickly went through the photos.

It wasn’t that Johnny looked bad in it, far from it even, he could pull off anything. Rather, Doyoung felt like it…didn’t suit him? He struggled to put a finger on what it was.

And really it was just hair. Sure, it was three times longer than his original length and he looked like a combination of Jacob Black and Billy Rae Cyrus, but it was still just hair.

As much as he repeated ‘just hair’ to himself, he was relieved when Johnny went back into the makeup room to take them out, in order to take the teaser shots with Johnny’s short hair. The extension had been thoroughly distracting and it was good to see the old Johnny again. _Stop being so dramatic,_ he told himself. It had only been a few hours, he had to get a grip.

He didn’t know why he was so concerned for Johnny, it wasn’t like a hairdo could kill him—and he’d even done it voluntarily, Doyoung thought horrified. He had tried gauging the other members’ reactions, but they revealed nothing. He approached Taeil hesitantly, carefully asking for his opinion without trying to seem like something was up, but the older was just as cryptic.

“Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder,” he’d told him. Whatever that meant.

He couldn’t help but feel like Taeil knew something he didn’t, and he was determined to find out what, at some point.

After the break they shot more individual images on the dark set, after which they went back to the dressing room. Even more chaos had settled into the room; dark outfits were discarded while several people pulled out the colorful outfits. They were gonna shoot everyone individually in their part of the set, so people were given their props and Doyoung was directed into a corner of neon blocks.

Johnny had been put into a grey suit, and as fate would have it, he was situated right in Doyoung’s line of vision. His background was classical looking, similar to the pillars pulling the set together, which complemented his outfit beautifully, and Doyoung stole a glance whenever Johnny wasn’t looking. His natural hair was soft and silky, somehow reflecting the shiny top he had underneath, and it was a combination to die for.

Curiously, the short hair didn’t soothe Doyoung’s mind, but somehow brought even more attention to his internal conflict about it. It had been putting him onto an emotional rollercoaster—this day was nothing he could’ve expected.

They ended the day with what they were told was going to be the climax of the story they were telling. It was the eight of them circling around Donghyuck, approaching him as he sat in the middle of the circle with his eyes closed, trying to wake him up. Connecting the song title to Hyuck being in Dream blew Yuta’s mind momentarily, and Doyoung watched him fondly.

 

When they returned to their hotel room that night, Doyoung threw himself onto his bed as soon as they got inside. Mentally he still had energy left, the adrenaline not having left his body yet, but physically he was exhausted. He could feel his muscles protesting, having been drained of all his energy by the choreography and shoot today. With all the waiting inbetween, it was just as intense as performing a three-hour show. He blamed it on the choreo too, having poured their entire heart and soul into it. Worth it, hopefully.

His and Johnny’s bed were still pushed together due to the movie they watched last night, so while Johnny was in the bathroom taking a shower, Doyoung spread himself over two beds, making himself comfortable.

Johnny came back dressed in a bathrobe, his hair still wet.

“Music, talk, sleep?” he asked Johnny, who wouldn’t ever turn that down. One, since those were three things Johnny loved doing anyway, and two, because when it came to it, Doyoung knew exactly what to do to make the members do what he wanted. That was, as long as Doyoung prepared himself for whatever he anticipated. He had a brief flashback to the I Love You game they had played last year, where he thought he was ready but then Johnny hit him with that lip bite.

Johnny jumped on the bed, shaking his head so stray drops of water landed on Doyoung. His hand ran through his hair, now even darker since it wasn’t dry yet. “I’m actually obsessed with my look for this video.”

Seeing how much Johnny loved his hair, how could Doyoung not too? Not that Johnny needed to know that. Instead, Doyoung played up his annoyance at the conceit, scoffing at him.

A quiet laugh left Johnny’s mouth. “I know, I know, stop giving me those dramatic looks.” Something changed in his eyes. “But you don’t honestly hate it, right?

“…it’s not the worst. Could’ve been worse,” he mumbled, referencing older looks. Other members from the Limitless era came to mind in particular.

Johnny nagged him, fishing for compliments. “Wouldn’t you even say…it’s one of the better ones.” Doyoung’s resolve to not let anything slip was fading away quickly.

“Don’t make me say it,” Doyoung whined.

He looked way too smug for his own good. “Hmm? Sorry, can you finish that thought?”

He averted his eyes. “It’s kinda…” Doyoung trailed off, mumbling the word.

Johnny tugged at his arm, trying to drag the words out of him.

“Hot,” Doyoung meekly said.

“Thank you. Was it that hard?” His wide smile made it all worth it, even if Doyoung felt there was a lot more behind that three-letter word he’d said. Lots to unpack there, but that was a problem for a later time.

(They both drop the topic after that, exchanging their thoughts about new choreo they were learning and passing out quite soon after.)

 

The second day of shooting, they had planned the most playful part of the concept. For this part, Johnny’s long hair made a reappearance, which he took full advantage of, to Doyoung’s frustration.

After the initial shock—especially having the night to get used to the idea—the hairdo had started growing on Doyoung. If anyone could pull it off, Johnny could, and he did it like no other. There was something about Johnny’s inherent nature, the way he carried himself with a confidence that seemed to come naturally, that just made it look so easy. If anything, the long hair made him even more confident. Doyoung knew him well enough to realise it didn’t come as easy as it looked—that it followed a long history of insecurities—but that didn’t keep him from admiring his attitude. He’d come a long way.

Johnny was having the best time with his hair. Silly selfies kept appearing in Doyoung’s notifications as Johnny sent them to the NCT group chat, letting Winwin and non-127 members in on the fun and showing off his new hair. _Fishing for compliments,_ Doyoung thought, which brought back that inexplicable feeling. It really didn’t help that Johnny now knew Doyoung didn’t hate it all that much, which he seemed to exploit to the best of his abilities. Not only had Johnny the puppy eyes and a smile to die for, now he had hair that made him even more confident, which was unfair, really. It made him too powerful.

Someone handed Johnny a lollipop and before Doyoung can object, Taeyong asks him to pose for a picture. It was like watching a train wreck in action, but being unable to take your eyes off of it. Once Taeyong started to take pictures, he wouldn’t stop for a while, so Doyoung had to endure in agony. Johnny was too cute for his own good, and Doyoung cringed at seeing the 1.85m tall man before him pull the cutest faces. Apparently it showed, because Johnny caught his gaze and started pouting.

(Doyoung cursed that Johnny was given long hair again for these shots, because he was unable to handle that combination.)

The pout was the last straw. As Doyoung turned around, trying to leave, Johnny’s arms caught him in an embrace. His long fingers started tickling him and he laughed. He broke free, escaping Johnny’s limbs first and then the room. In the bathroom, he found his own reflection and noticed he was blushing. Stupid.

By the time he made it back, they had finished setting up the set, including cars and the dolly track they’d need for the choreography later. He couldn’t have missed Johnny, his tall presence towering over everyone else, but luckily there was a safe distance in between them—whatever tension there was originally, was gone.

Doing the group shots was a lot of fun, both the playing around with candy and the dancing. Doyoung was chewing bubblegum, blowing bubbles as they were messing around. The whole scene came together nicely, the background matching their outfits.

As much as he could, he tried to ignore Johnny, which moving onto the second choreography part helped with. He couldn’t spent his time longing for attention from his tall, handsome band member, especially if he ended up running away from him anyway.

Instead, he began bothering Jungwoo, who was struggling with his accessories, who in turn got back at Doyoung by stealing his bucket hat. When it came to individual shots, he was paired up with Mark to sit in the car. Glad to escape Johny’s presence for a while, he focused on the task at hand. Once they were dancing, he went back and forth between staring at Johnny and ignoring him, something Taeil definitely picked up on, judging from the looks he received.

They finished shooting the main choreography a few hours later. This was one of the final segments, so they were basically done at this point. Jungwoo and Donghyuck were taken aside for some last individual shots; meanwhile Taeyong started braiding Johnny’s hair. If Johnny’s loose long hair was infuriating, then this was unbearable. Taeyong had given him a single Dutch braid, all hair pulled back with the exception of a few loose strands of hair that now framed his face.

Something about the way it fell in front of his eyes and the shorter strands accentuated his lips was enough to make Doyoung’s heart weak. Again, Doyoung chose to flee to another room because, well, he was a coward, and he also didn’t want to give Johnny the satisfaction of showing how a hairstyle was enough to completely disarm him.

 

After calling it a wrap, Doyoung overheard Johnny in the waiting room, who was asking the crew if he could keep the hair for a bit longer.

Of course he would.

Johnny was chilling on the couch when Doyoung approached him. They didn’t say anything, just exchanged smiles, and he joined him on the couch. They were both worn out and somehow Johnny ended up with his head in Doyoung’s lap, his long legs hanging in the air, extended over the edge to the other side. He asked Doyoung to undo his braid, and Doyoung complied. He slid off the several ties that secured his hairdo, gently tugging on the strands until they escaped the braid.

Suddenly unexpected shyness hit Doyoung.

“Can I,” his voice cracked, “play with your hair?” He wasn’t avoiding his eyes, but definitely not as bold as he would like to be.

Johnny glossed over the awkwardness with ease. “Sure thing, babe.”

Doyoung stopped functioning at the mention of the pet name, not sure how he should respond, if he was even capable of that. So he started petting Johnny’s hair, running with his fingers through the long, straight strands.

Johnny closed his eyes as Doyoung continued to gently tugging on ends of hair, twisting others. They stayed like that for a while, Doyoung having gone on to massaging his scalp while Johnny seemingly dozed off. He stroked his head, lightly scraping the nape of his neck with his nails, and Johnny let out a low groan, almost like he was purring. Not so asleep, after all.

Doyoung took his hands off his hair, feeling like he’d been pushing boundaries, and Johnny had the audacity to whine.

He slowly opened his eyes and huffed, looking at him. “Why’d you stop? This is still payback for all the dirty looks you gave me for my hair; I’m not letting you off the hook that easily.”

Doyoung silently obeyed, hands back in his hair. His mind wandered off, trying to detangle the mess he’d gotten himself into. As a group, they’d always been touchy, not shy about cuddling, some more clingy than others, but this felt different. Johnny was different. They were in dangerous territory, if he didn’t know any better he’d think Johnny’d been flirting. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.

He was grateful for the close bond they all had with each other, but having Johnny in his arms like that made him never wanna let go. He shifted places so he was also lying on the couch, half-spooning Johnny, when the tall man in question buried his face in Doyoung’s neck. He began humming, his mouth resting against Doyoung’s skin, who felt the voice waves travel through his body.

“We’re on thin ice,” Doyoung whispered unsteadily.

“We don’t have to be,” Johnny replied, using his hands to cuddle more.

“Don’t say that if you don’t intend on following through…”

With that Johnny crawled over him, just as Doyoung lifted himself up and their lips quite literally crashed into each other. They laughed and the painful sensation faded when he started kissing the other’s lips more gently to make up for it. All of Doyoung’s senses were consumed by Johnny as their legs and his hand in his hair were still deeply entangled. Doyoung felt as if he was meant to kiss him forever. He sighed into their kiss and Johnny started kissing a trail from his mouth to his ear along his neck.

He didn’t want to leave their position, but they couldn’t stay in the waiting room for the night. He told Johnny as much, who ignored him in favour of a kiss that lasted until Doyoung broke it off because he had to take a breath.

“Can we do this more often?” Doyoung whispered against his neck.

“I don’t accept anything less.” Johnny went back to appreciating every aspect of Doyoung’s face, leaving pecks everywhere and ending with a kiss on his nose.

Doyoung sought out his lips again, before leaning back. “C’mon.” He reluctantly pulled up Johnny from the couch, and when they walked out, Johnny didn’t let go of his hand.

 

Taeil caught him after dinner. From the look in his eyes, Doyoung could tell he knew. “So, the hair’s what did it huh?”

Doyoung couldn’t deny it, but he didn't wanna admit it either, so he settled for a half-smile, half-glare. “How long have you known? I didn’t even know.”

“I’ve been suspecting it for weeks. I don’t know, you started acting differently around him, more nervous. It helps that Johnny told me he liked you.”

“He did?”

Doyoung hugged Taeil. “You were incredibly cryptic but I’m sure your comments helped, on some subconscious level, so thank you.”

 

When they were back at the dorms, Doyoung found Johnny in his room. He leaned against the doorframe. “You knew?”

“Of course.” Johnny had a smug smile on his face.

“Liar. You’re all talk, no action. Who was the one to confess first? Me. All you did was beg for compliments because you were so far up your own ass,” he teased him.

“That’s not true…okay, maybe it is a little. But in my defense, it was deserved.”

Doyoung mocked his expressions.“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you’re hot and you want the world to know it.”

Johnny hummed in agreement. “You’re right, except for one thing,” he poked Doyoung’s cheek, “it wasn’t the world I cared about, dummy, it was you.”  


**Author's Note:**

> i could not _not_ write about johnny's long hair. let me know what u thought of it!!  
> thank u [sarah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraclegarden) for beta'ing uwu. come say hi at [twitter @wayvyong](https://twitter.com/wayvyong)


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